The final pathway for the control of micturition is by way of the autonomic nervous system: the bladder and urethra receive parasympathetic innervation via the pelvic nerves and sympathetic innervation via the hypogastric nerves. We propose to utilize the urinary bladder (of the rabbit, and dog) as a model to study the reciprocal influence of adrenergic and cholinergic innervation on smooth muscle function. The following methodology will be employed. Radio-ligand binding assays will be utilized to quantitate and characterize the type of autonomic receptors present in specific areas of the urinary bladder and urethra. In-vitro muscle bath studies will be used to determine both the physiologic response to pharmacologic agents (by measurement of contractility) and the metabolic response to these agents (by measurement of oxygen consumption and high-energy phosphate metabolism). The primary objective of these studies is to determine the reciprocal influence of the adrenergic and cholinergic nervous systems on lower urinary tract function. We plan to attain this objective by 1) determining the distribution and characteristics of both adrenergic and cholinergic receptors, 2) correlating the receptor characteristics with the physiological and metabolic responses to autonomic agonists and antagonists, and 3) determining the effects of specific neurosurgical, pharmacological and hormonal manipulations on autonomic receptor characteristics and on bladder and urethral function.